Norwegian Oil and Gas Association, Recommended Guidelines for NDT of GRP pipe systems and

tanks
No.: 055
1.2.2

Date effective: 01.03.97

Revision no:

Date revised:

Page: 11

Verification activities
It should be emphasized that following the routine quality control measures in [1 -2] will
greatly help to ensure that GRP piping and tank systems are installed without the
problems which have sometimes been seen in the past. Verifying that these Q.C.
procedures have been followed will not always be the inspector's responsibility, but may
be (as in the case of new construction). The inspector shall pay particular attention to
this verification activity whenever it is included in the inspection scope.

1.2.3

Responsibility for inspection strategy

Each user shall develop an inspection strategy particular to their own needs and
applications. This strategy shall be documented and communicated to the appropriate
equipment-responsible, inspection, and NDT personnel.

1.2.4

Suggested inspection strategies

A suggested inspection strategy, which considers system criticality and availability/
accessbility, is illustrated in Figure 1.2 for GRP systems on offshore production facilities.
This may be used as a starting point for developing an appropriate, company -specific,
inspection strategy. The limitations noted above are addressed by:
- highlighting key quality control activities.
- emphasizing visual inspection in accordance with Annex A.
- identifying the (limited) circumstances when full pressure testing (at 1.5 times
design pressure) may be replaced with various combinations of additional NDT and
functional testing at operational pressures.
It should be noted that Figure 1.2 refers frequently to Norsok M-CR-621 (GRP pipingbased). While much of this standard - and this Guideline - can be applied directly to
tanks, it may be more appropriate to use tank-based standards, e.g.
[5-8], when developing inspection strategies for systems containing GRP tanks. This
Guideline will concentrate more on piping systems than tanks, since the latter are
covered at least to some extent by existing specifications, particularly as regar ds quality
control and visual inspection. The information presented on various NDT methods in this
Guideline can be applied when evaluating their possible use on tanks. However, It
should be recognized that some tanks may be designed using sandwich -construction or
very thick walls which may limit the applicability of the NDT methods presented here.
A sample inspection strategy which covers both piping and tanks exposed to a variety of
fluids (including seawater and those typical of chemical processing plants) is presented
in Annex H. This Annex can serve as an alternate starting point for developing a
company-specific inspection strategy. However, by including chemical plant facilities, it is
considerably more complicated than the majority of seawater piping and tank
applications will need to be.